TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Daniel Cleary was backed up against a wall, surrounded by reporters, smiling away as he explained his decision to stay with the Red Wings when Niklas Kronwall sauntered by.

"Hey, hey," Kronwall cheered as he spotted Cleary.

"See what I deal with," Cleary said, laughing. "It's hard to leave."

So it was. Cleary's decision Thursday morning to accept a one-year, $1.75 million offer from the Red Wings capped a stressful few days that saw him almost become a Philadelphia Flyer, until he couldn't bear the thought of not being a Red Wing.

At midnight Monday, Cleary agreed to a professional tryout contract with the Flyers, with an agreement that a three-year, $8.25 million deal would materialize at the end of the month, after the Flyers had created room under the salary cap.

On Tuesday, Cleary found it hard to breathe.

"I was ready to go to Philly," Cleary said, "and I just couldn't go."

That led to a meeting Wednesday with general manager Ken Holland and coach Mike Babcock at Traverse City's airport. Cleary returned home to metro Detroit to wait for an offer. He said Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren "was supportive" the whole time.

Holland and Babcock both wanted Cleary back; Holland offered both a two-year deal worth around $4.5 million and a three-year deal worth slightly under $6 million in June, but those offers were shelved after the team signed Daniel Alfredsson and Stephen Weiss.

Holland crunched new numbers, and agreed to take the Wings about $2.4 million over the salary cap, and put them at 17 NHL-tabbed forwards. Teams don't have to be compliant until Sept. 30, by which time Holland expects to have moved a forward or two. The most vulnerable is forward Jordin Tootoo, who might not fit into Babcock's plans.

"Over the next few weeks, we're going to have to make some moves to get cap compliant before the Buffalo game, but we think we're a better team with Clears," Holland said. "He's valuable in the room. He's versatile on the wing."

Cleary, 34, was the team's second leading scorer in the playoffs overall, tops against the Chicago Blackhawks. A one-year deal made sense to him because the salary cap will rise next summer, leaving more room to negotiate an extension.

Babcock originally was going to put Cleary with captain Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk during camp, but reconsidered after Justin Abdelkader scored two goals for the line in Team Delvecchio's 4-0 triumph against Team Howe in the first scrimmage at Centre Ice Arena.

What matters to Babcock is that Cleary gives him another ultra-competitive forward to field.

"I'm thrilled," Babcock said. "He makes our team better. It's going to be a tough team to play on up front, we've got a lot of depth up front."

To make matters even better for Cleary, he's going to get to keep his number 11. Alfredsson, who wore 11 for 17 seasons with Ottawa, said he's fine leaving it as his legacy with the Senators, and is leaning toward wearing 24 with Detroit.

Teammates were delighted with the news. Many found out as they were working out or skating at the arena.

He and Zetterberg had taken Cleary out to lunch last week, urging him to stay.

"It's nice that everything got solved," Zetterberg said. "I'm glad to see him here. He's a big part of our group off the ice and it wouldn't be the same not having him. He brings a lot, and he helps keep a good atmosphere in the locker room."

Helene St. James writes for the Detroit Free Press, a Gannett property